News: Penang to Create 50km Coastal Park

In a bid to turn the island into Asia’s greenest and liveable city, the state government of Penang plans to create a network of parks that are linked to waterfront amenities, reported The Star.

Forming part of Penang 2030, the Penang Green Connectors project would include the creation of a 50km coastal park running from Tanjung Pinang to Batu Maung with a series of lineal parks along rivers.

In fact, the government had identified a total of 18,000ha of land within the island that will form part of the green network, which include the greenery and walkways along the coastal park, said Penang Housing, Town, Country Planning and Local Government Committee chairman Jagdeep Singh Deo.

“Besides the coastal park, there will also be 65km of ‘blue’ connectors, which are rivers flowing along the coastal park,” revealed Jagdeep during a visit to the Penang Bicycle Lane Master Plan project at Gurney Drive.

He noted that 13km of the Sungai Perai riverbank will be restored as a pilot project, while the possibility of including Sungai Juru as part of the network is also being explored by the state.

Various pilot projects would have to be established first, such as connecting Gurney Wharf to Padang Kota via boardwalks and coastal embankment stabilisations as well as improving accessibility to Sungai Bagan Jermal.

“Once completed, this will allow people to walk, run or cycle from Penang Botanic Gardens to Gurney Wharf and then along the coast to the clan jetties onto Karpal Singh Drive and move to Batu Maung from there,” said Jagdeep.

“There are social, economic and environmental benefits associated with the Penang Green Connectors project which would significantly increase waterfront recreational amenity for the people of Penang.”

“It would improve liveability and attract additional talent, skills and investment to the state, with environmental benefits such as the creation of ecological corridors and cooling effects from additional greenery to mitigate climate change,” he added.

With the details to be discussed at an inter-governmental agency workshop that would be held on 10 January, the project would start in Q3 2019, revealed Jagdeep.